CQUniversity

Executive Summary

*Insert contents page*

Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this laboratory session, you will be able to:

Analyse the performance of a vapour compression refrigeration cycle

using R134a as a refrigerant fluid including drawing a T-s and p-h diagram
of the cycle
Apply energy balances of the components
Determine refrigerating capacity of the unit
Prepare technical and laboratory report with evaluation of experimental
uncertainties and results obtained
Communicate professionally and provide evidence of personal reflection
on, and critical assessment of, team contributions and professional
developments.

Introduction
The most common application for a refrigeration system is to keep our food and
drinks cool. It does this by extracting the heat from the surrounding atmosphere.
In the experiment, the team analyse a vapour compression refrigeration system,
where a refrigerant flows through a compressor, condenser, restrictor and
evaporator. The same cooling principle of extracting occurs in this system. This is
because the refrigeration has a low boiling point, it evaporates when placed
under low pressure and in turn evaporates, extracting the heat from the system.
We know that where there is evaporation there is also condensation which occurs
on the high pressure side of the compressor in this system, which releases the
extracted heat to the surrounding atmosphere.
The ET351C refrigeration system will be used with a R134a refrigerant which is
pictured below.

Figure 1 - Overall view of refrigeration system, main components and connection

points.

Objectives

To plot refrigeration cycle on T-s and p-h diagram

To determine the refrigerating capacity
To determine the characteristic values of compressor unit
Drive motor mechanical power
Drive motor efficiency
Compressor shaft power
Compressor efficiency
Isentropic efficiency of the compressor
To determine the performance number (coefficient of performance) of the
refrigeration cycle
Internal performance number of refrigeration system
Mechanical performance number of refrigeration system
Electrical performance number of refrigeration system

Procedure
As per laboratory instruction sheet.

Theory
The following is a list of the formulas that have been used to conduct the
calculations for this laboratory:

Figure 2 - Extract from T-s Diagram

Figure 3 - Extract p-h Diagram

Results
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Discussion
In your results and discussion, comment on the following points and compare the
results for compressor speeds of 600rpm and 700rpm:

What is Refrigerating Capacity?

Refrigeration Capacity is also known as the thermal size of a refrigerator, cooling
power or heat transfer rate. It determines the amount of heat that is needed to
be removed from the object being cooled over a period of time. The units that
can be used to measure the refrigerating capacity of a system are kilowatts
(kW).
When the refrigerant leaves the evaporator it is compressed by the compressor
into a high pressure and temperature. The rate of power input per unit of mass of
refrigerant,

W c
m , is determined from the assumption that there is no heat

transfer occurring as the refrigerant leaves the compressor.

http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Refrigerating+Capacity
Qo value is still being determined

What are the differences between the three performance

numbers?
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What are the differences between isentropic and mechanical

efficiency of the compressor?
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What is drive motor mechanical power and compressor shaft

power?
The mechanical power of the drive motor is essentially the angular speed of the
motor multiplied by the torque, with the angular speed being measured in
radians per second and torque being measured in newton meters and all being
multiplied by 2 pi. This method is used to calculate both mechanical power as
well as the compressor power. This value is important because the motor must
be powerful enough to compress the desired gas, while still being efficient and
cost effective. The average mechanical power of the motor was 335.667W. With
the first calculated reading of 337W, a second reading of 330W, and finally a
third reading of 340W.
The calculated values for the compressor power for our experiment were
collected at two different speeds of 600 and 700 RPM. The results at 600 RPM
yielded an internal power of 167.01W and a mechanical power of 218.23W.
While operating at 700 RPM the calculated internal power was 197.31W and the
mechanical power was 252.41W.

Comment on the accuracy of

m
r

(mass flow rate of R134a)

The accuracy of the mass flow rate for the R134a will have a drastic effect on the
calculated values for both the power of the condenser as well as the efficiency of
the compressor. If the mass flow rate is not accurate, every component in the
system will be effected. For example, if the flow rate was inaccurate, an uneven
flow rate would cause a fluctuation in the equilibrium of the process due to the
contents in circulation spending more or less time in the condenser, turbine,
compressor, evaporator, etc. In total, the fluctuations of the mass flow rate of
the R134 refrigerant were subtle, but were still enough to cause major
discrepancies in our readings or calculations. These discrepancies were evident
in our calculations for entropy giving us unrealistic data that did not match the
expected entropy figure.

Conclusion

Errors